LIMPOPO – Charges have been laid against Agriculture MEC, Joy Matshoge, who allegedly received cattle worth some R1 million from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) Nguni Cattle Trust as a previously disadvantaged person.
This was according to DA Limpopo Leader, Jacques Smalle, who said the charges were laid with the Public Protector by the DA.
“The MEC brazenly insists that she applied before she became an MEC, like any other previously disadvantaged person,” Smalle accused.
The farm on which the cattle now graze, Du Toitskraal, is leased by Matshoge from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, Smalle further alleged. He said these projects are aimed at the upliftment of emerging farmers and Matshoge is constitutionally mandated to demonstrate a high standard of professional ethics.
“Not only did the MEC abuse her position for self-enrichment, she created a conflict of interest between her office and her private interest thereby severely compromising the integrity of government. We believe that development projects like these should only benefit the disadvantaged poor and not the political elite,” Smalle said.
Sipho Dikgale, spokesperson for Matshoge, said the MEC had applied to the scheme in 2013, met the criteria and benefited precisely because she met the criteria. Dikgale said Matshoge received 31 heads of cattle in 2013 and there was a shortfall of 20, which were delivered in 2014.
He said at the time she applied, Matshoge was not an MEC, nor a member of any of the three entities comprising the IDC Nguni Cattle Trust.
Dikgale further explained that the three stakeholders of the trust are the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the University of Limpopo, and Matshoge had no influence whatsoever on the decisions regarding the allocation of cattle.
“In terms of the criteria of the scheme, those who are excluded as beneficiaries are the current employees of the three entities. The provincial Department of Agriculture does not set the criteria, nor manage or control the process of allocating cattle.
“The IDC Nguni Cattle Trust, as the project implementer on behalf of the three founding partners, is responsible for the identification and selection, allocation and support of the beneficiaries. Applications are made directly to the trust.
“The criteria for allocating the cattle to beneficiaries is that, applicants must be residing on their farms or their farms must be within the territory of Limpopo, they must be South Africans from previously disadvantaged backgrounds and they may not be employees of the three entities mentioned.
“They must own a farm suitable for cattle farming or lease a farm suitable for cattle farming from any organ of the State. In either case, the farm must be of a minimum of 600 ha,” Dikgale said.
He added that the DA and any other person can check the department’s records. “We don’t have anything to hide. It is unfortunate that the DA has rushed to the Public Protector with inaccurate and half-baked information,” Dikgale said.
